Articles by Andrew Elwell

Mullah Abdul Satar, former Taliban commander, recently spoke to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Anthony Ulrich, commander of the PRT Civil Affairs group , about his decision to join the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme. “My reason for being in this program is whenever the Taliban were arresting people and beheading them for no good reason, I was totally against it and it wasn’t fair...Full Article »

Geoff Searle, Programme Director for the UK’s new Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC) aircraft carriers, sits down with Defence IQ to discuss the Aircraft Carrier Alliance and its progress to date as these two world-class carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, begin to take shape. During the interview Searle discusses how the government’s announcement about returning to the...Full Article »

Philip Hammond announced yesterday that he has “balanced the books” at the Ministry of Defence and has successfully plugged the £38 billion black hole. “For the first time in decades we have delivered a credible and sustainable budget and we can now confidently pledge to deliver to our Armed Forces almost £160 billion worth of equipment over the next decade that we...Full Article »

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has finally announced that the UK will be reverting to the jump-jet F-35B variant of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme after costs to modify the Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC) carriers for the F-35C fighter jet began to spiral. “The 2010 SDSR decision on carriers was right at the time, but the facts have changed and therefore so too must our...Full Article »

The iron curtain surrounding London in the run up to the Olympic Games this summer continues to be drawn around the capital as law enforcement and government agencies bolster and reinforce their defences. The latest trend has seen a jump in armoured vehicles sales, primarily to heads of state and high net worth individuals. International Armoring Corporation (IAC), a U.S.-based manufacturer of...Full Article »

Last month India successfully launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of 5,000km (3,100 miles). This is significant for at least two pressing reasons: the Agni-V missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and its long range brings it within striking distance of China. The test firing was described as “a perfect launch” by SP Das, Director of...Full Article »

It’s been an important few weeks for Canada-based Streit Group as the armoured vehicle manufacturer cemented its place at the top of the food chain in one region, while expanding into another. Guerman Goutorov, the Chairman of Streit Group, talked exclusively with Defence IQ about the company’s vision for the future after opening a new facility in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) and announcing...Full Article »

At the International Centre for Defence Studies (ICDS) in Estonia this week, UK Minister for Cyber Security Francis Maude discussed the “immense possibilities, and the huge challenges presented by the cyber revolution”. Maude’s speech comes as fears about a cyber attack at the London 2012 Olympics continue to plague the government and organising committee. “This...Full Article »

UK defence exports were down £400 million to £5.4 billion in 2011, according to the UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation (UKTI DSO). However, with a 15% market share the UK is still the world’s second largest defence exporter ahead of Russia and France. The US has the lion’s share with 35% of the market. In encouraging news UKTI DSO reported that...Full Article »

As technologies develop throughout the 21 st Century, our cultural, social and economic landscape will be transformed into an intelligent, interconnected hub. Security will move deeper into the cyber domain as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication becomes the norm; we will see the rise of the smart city. The smart grid, smart home, smart meter…the smart car – there is a smart...Full Article »

The “whispered suggestions” and “muted” response to the deployment of missile batteries in London’s residential areas during the Olympics that I reported  on last month have been turned up to an audible din after the MoD contacted the public about using their private building as a site to base the missile systems. The High Velocity Missile (HVM) system, which...Full Article »